Living Well = Aging Well

From the moment we’re conceived we are in fact getting older. The practice of living is also by default the practice of aging. And usually how we live affects how we age. So the art of living well should include the art of aging well. Instead of ignoring it, fretting over it, or feeling out of control, aging well should include a healthy mindset, healthy habits, and perhaps a healthy dose of something spiritual that connects us to something beyond our mortality.

Many of us worry about younger generations and what they’re learning with so many of their “role models” trying so desperately not to age. But role models aren’t just celebrities and people in the limelight; they’re parents, teachers and other adults taking up residence in their lives. How we teach others to respect the process of aging is by modeling that same behavior, but we first have to face our own fears on the subject.

In our youth and beauty-obsessed culture, it’s no wonder that we’re uneasy about our years showing. There are, however, more significant ways in which age affects us, including our physical health failing, mental health suffering, and thoughts tending toward mortality. It is a science, if we think about aging in terms of eating right, staying active, engaging the mind, and challenging old beliefs and stale attitudes.

It is, nonetheless, also an empowering lifestyle when we focus on how better we can live right now, how well we can wear our years. We can find a balance between taking care of ourselves and respecting the parts of us that undeniably get older. We also ought to be gentler with our imperfect selves and learn to refrain from worrying about inevitable things. Practicing the art of healthy aging is a skill learned over time that generates more beauty on the inside as well as outside.